The elite wide receiver injured the posterior cruciate ligament in his left knee toward the end of last week's game at Utah and will not play Friday night against Washington at Memorial Stadium.

Coach Jeff Tedford said Allen faces a recovery time of two to three weeks for an injury to the back of the knee that does not require surgery.

That means Allen would almost certainly miss the Oregon game Nov. 10, with only Oregon State on Nov. 17 in Corvallis remaining for the 3-6 Bears - provided the team does not win its remaining games to qualify for a bowl at 6-6.

"We have to see how his recovery goes," Tedford said after Thursday's practice. "We're not going to put him in jeopardy by any means. We're going to look out for his best interests."

The NFL team that selects Allen in the 2013 draft will certainly appreciate Tedford looking out for its future investment. Allen intends to declare for the NFL draft after this, his junior season. He is projected to be a first-round pick based on his size (6-foot-3, 210 pounds), excellent hands, smooth moves and ability to return punts.

"All the NFL stuff we'll talk about after the season," Tedford said. "Anything's a possibility."

Allen hurt his knee on a failed onside kick attempt by Cal with 1:18 left in the lost cause that was the Utah game; the Utes led 49-27 at the time. Tedford was asked why he would endanger his best player when Cal was down by 22 points with so little time left.

"We were trying to get the ball back, compete and score," the coach said.

Allen, who leads the team with 61 receptions for 737 yards and six touchdowns this season, became Cal's career leader in receptions during the Utah game, with 205. His 2,570 receiving yards are No. 3 in school history behind Geoff McArthur (3,188) and Bobby Shaw (2,731).

"Obviously, it hurts," offensive coordinator Jim Michalczik said. "The talent Keenan is, the competitor he is, there's no way you don't miss a guy like that."

Fortunately for the Bears, freshmen Bryce Treggs and Chris Harper are experienced players by now, having seen substantial playing time. They will be joined by another freshman wide receiver, Darius Powe. Adding depth for Cal are Maurice Harris and Jackson Bouza.

"We've had a lot of true freshmen who have played for us," Michalczik said. "They've been maturing. It's not the end of the world. Those guys will step up. ... So far, the stage has not been too big for them. We just want them to compete."

Treggs and Harper have shown flashes this season as they played complementary roles to Allen. Treggs has started eight games and has 21 receptions for 216 yards and one touchdown. Harper, with two starts, has 29 for 380 yards and two touchdowns.

"I have confidence in those guys to go out and play hard," Tedford said. "They're capable of making plays. They're excited about playing. I'm excited about seeing them."

In limited playing time, Powe has two catches for 44 yards. At 6-3 and 212 pounds, he's more similar in size to Allen than Treggs or Harper are.

"He's a very, very hard worker," Michalczik said. "He studies. He's a smart young man. Anytime you get these true freshmen to play ... He's done a great job."

Tedford said Treggs would replace Allen as Cal's primary punt returner. No one other than Allen has returned a punt this season; he has 15 returns for 212 yards and one touchdown, a 69-yarder against Southern Utah.

Friday's game

Who: Washington (4-4, 2-3 Pac-12) at Cal (3-6, 2-4)

Where: Memorial Stadium

When: 6 p.m.

TV/Radio: ESPN2/810 AM

Story line: Who wants it more? That's what this game comes down to. Cal needs to win out against Washington, Oregon and Oregon State (an improbable scenario) to reach .500. The Huskies, meanwhile, have a seemingly easy path to a winning record as they finish with Utah, Colorado and Washington State.

What to watch for

When Brendan Bigelow steps onto the field for Cal, good things happen. He's averaging 16.5 yards every time he has touched the ball this season, with four touchdowns. Cal is at the nothing-to-lose part of the season, so why not give the ball to the fastest player on the team?

Cal's linebacker corps is still not at full strength, which could be a problem when it comes to covering tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins. The Husky leads the nation's tight ends in receptions with 40 and averages almost 12 yards per catch. He had two touchdown catches in Washington's win over Cal a year ago.

Funny how good teams don't turn the ball over while bad teams do. At 4-4, Washington is even in the turnover department with 17 give-aways and 17 take-aways. At 3-6, Cal is minus-1. Stanford, Oregon State, Oregon and USC are all to the good in this important category. So watch who turns the all over more times, Cal or Washington - there's your loser.

Career statistics

Keenan Allen's career stats and all-time school ranking:

Stat

Total

Rank

Receptions

205

1st

Receiving yards

2,570

3rd

TD receptions

17

7th

100-yard games

7

6th

Key component

Cal hosts Washington at 6 p.m. on Friday (Nov. 2) without Keenan Allen, who was a large part of the offense and special teams. Here's a look at his receiving stats and their percentage of the team totals: